The SBS World News Channel was an Australian television channel broadcast by SBS Television that launched on 12 June 2002. The channel, which used to be available only to

digital television Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using Digital signal, digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an ...

viewers in Australia, was the first digital-only multi-channel for the

Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public broadcasting, public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from tax revenue. SBS operates six TV channels (SBS (Australian TV chann ...

. The news service was broadcast for eighteen hours per day, seven days a week, retransmitting news from fifteen countries. In between news retransmissions, the channel displayed weather information, news headlines, and some commercial advertising.

History

The SBS World News Channel was officially inaugurated by Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Richard Alston on 12 June 2002, with the launch broadcast simultaneously live onto the channel. It was previously known as ''The World News'' in its first year. Tagalog, Vietnamese, and

Arabic language Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

broadcasts were added to SBS' ''WorldWatch'' schedule in 2003. The Vietnamese service, taken from the government-controlled channel VTV4, was heavily protested against by the Vietnamese community, many of whom found the bulletin's portrayal of the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

Vietnamese flag and

Ho Chi Minh (born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho () among other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as the founder and first President of Vietnam, president of the ...

offensive. The Vietnamese Community of Australia, claimed that the program's lack of reports on political arrests and religious oppression were also offensive, especially to those who fled the country following the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

The backlash resulting from these events prompted SBS to begin showing disclaimers before all externally produced bulletins, distancing the broadcaster from each bulletin's editorial content. Genre restrictions imposed by the Australian

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

on digital multi-channelling were lifted along with the media ownership laws passed through the Australian

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

on 18 October 2006. Between broadcasts, a commercial for the channel was shown. The dialogue is as follows: ''The SBS World News Channel delivers more than 200 news programs from around the globe each week, providing an up to date and varied perspective on the headlines of the day. Each bulletin is in the language and format of the country of origin. From 5:20am Monday to Saturday, continuous telecasts from international broadcasters via satellite from some of the most respected news bureaus of the world, From 7:00am Sundays, news reviews and magazine style information programs. The most comprehensive international news channel in the world, with unparalleled access to continuing news and current affairs from 17 countries in languages other than English. Available only on the SBS World News Channel''. The channel was set up as an experimental full service channel. SBS World News Channel was broadcast on channel 33 from its launch until 29 January 2009, when it was moved to channel 32. Thereafter, a simulcast of SBS was shown on channel 33. SBS World News Channel was closed and replaced by SBS 2 on 1 June 2009.

Programming

The SBS World News Channel broadcast for 18 hours each day, retransmitting over two-hundred news programs per week, from twenty-three countries. The channel's programming line-up consisted of retransmissions of bulletins from news services throughout the world, including: These programs are also presented on SBS TV, along with PBS's '' Nightly Business Report'' and ''

PBS NewsHour ''PBS News Hour'', previously stylized as ''PBS NewsHour'', is the news division of PBS and an American daily evening news broadcasting#television, television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS Network affiliate#Member stations, member stat ...

'', SBS TV broadcasts '' World News Australia'', and the English version of

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

's bulletin.

earthTV

earthTV was broadcast on the SBS World News Channel when news programs are broadcast. It also acted as a filler when news programs are delayed.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sbs World News Channel 24-hour television news channels in Australia Special Broadcasting Service English-language television stations in Australia Digital terrestrial television in Australia Television channels and stations established in 2002 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2009 2002 establishments in Australia 2009 disestablishments in Australia Defunct television channels in Australia Commercial-free television networks in Australia

History

Programming

earthTV

See also

Notes